Rehab-Immersive: A framework to support the development of virtual reality applications in upper limb rehabilitation

Abstract

In this article, we present a framework, called Rehab-Immersive (RI), for the development of virtual reality clinical applications as a complement to the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. RI addresses the interaction of patients with virtual worlds, considering upper limb motor impairments. A preconfiguration allows customization for each patient’s specific needs. RI also stores kinematics data, providing clinical staff with a valuable tool to evaluate progress and patient exercise performance. As an example, a virtual version of the Box & Block test is presented. • Rehab-Immersive supports the development of upper-limb virtual rehabilitation. • Rehab-Immersive’s architecture enables scalable hand rehabilitation software. • Personalized rehabilitation with diverse supported grasps for interaction. • The persistence module stores data for analysis, assessing exercise correctness. • VR-based Box and Block Test app on Rehab-Immersive tested by clinical staff.